STEC Responds to Balch Hill and Potomac Capital's Open Letter to STEC's Shareholders

STEC Responds to Balch Hill and Potomac Capital's Open Letter to STEC's
Shareholders
SANTA ANA, Calif., March 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEC, Inc.
(Nasdaq:STEC), a leading global provider of solid-state storage solutions,
today confirmed that settlement discussions to avert a proxy contest with
Balch Hill and Potomac Capital have broken down, as noted in an open letter
they sent to STEC shareholders.
"STEC has gone to great lengths to offer a reasonable compromise to the two
parties, which would have included giving them a meaningful presence on our
Board allowing a constructive and collaborative path forward," said Kevin C.
Daly, Ph.D., chairman of STEC's Board of Directors."We are disappointed that
the dissidents have decided to pursue this wasteful course of action.The
Board and management team remain fully committed to creating value for all
shareholders, and that remains our focus."
The date for the 2013 Annual Meeting has not yet been announced.
About STEC, Inc.
STEC, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-class, solid-state storage
solutions designed for the ever-growing performance, reliability and endurance
requirements of today's advanced data centers.The industry's first company to
deploy solid-state drives (SSDs) into large-scale enterprise environments,
STEC offers the industry's widest range of solid-state storage solutions,
which protect critical information for major business and government
organizations worldwide. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, STEC also
serves the embedded and military/aerospace markets with SSDs for industrial
and rugged environments. For more information, visit www.stec-inc.com.
For information about STEC and to subscribe to STEC's "Email Alerts" service,
please visit STEC's web site at www.stec-inc.com, click on the blue
"Investors" tab at the top of the home page and then click "Email Alerts."
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STEC and the STEC logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of STEC,
Inc. in the United States and certain other countries.All other trademarks or
brand names referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, statements concerning
or related to matters to be presented at STEC's 2013 annual meeting of
shareholders. Such forward-looking statements are based on current
expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors
that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual
outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations.Although
STEC believes that the forward-looking statements contained in this release
are reasonable, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be
fulfilled.Additional important factors which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements are detailed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
made from time to time by STEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K.Special
attention is directed to the portions of those documents entitled "Risk
Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations."The information contained in this press release is a
statement of STEC's present intention, belief or expectation.STEC may change
its intention, belief, or expectation, at any time and without notice, based
upon any changes in such factors, in STEC's assumptions or otherwise.Except
as required by law, STEC undertakes no obligation to release publicly any
revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances
occurring after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
Additional Information
STEC will prepare and file a proxy statement in connection with its 2013
Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "2013 Annual Meeting"). When completed, a
proxy statement and a form of proxy will be mailed to shareholders. STEC's
shareholders are urged to read the proxy statement when available because it
will contain important information. Once filed with the SEC, a copy of the
proxy statement and other relevant documents will be available on the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov and a copy may be obtained without charge upon
request (by mail or telephone) to STEC, Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 3001
Daimler Street, Santa Ana, California 92705-5812, telephone: (949)476-1180,
or from the "Investor Relations" section of STEC's website, www.stec-inc.com.
STEC and certain of its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the election of
directors at the 2013 Annual Meeting. Information regarding STEC's directors
and executive officers, including their ownership of STEC common stock, can be
found in STEC's 2012 Annual Meeting proxy statement filed with the SEC on
April 3, 2012. Shareholders will be able to obtain additional information
regarding STEC's directors and executive officers, including their interests,
by reading STEC's2013 Annual Meeting proxy statement and other relevant
documents, when filed with the SEC.
CONTACT: Mitch Gellman
Vice President of Investor Relations
STEC, Inc.
(949) 260-8328
ir@stec-inc.com
Jerry Steach
Director, Public Relations
STEC, Inc.
(415) 222-9996
jsteach@stec-inc.com
STEC, Inc.